A Chance to Love
By Shellagh22
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the anime, I just write about it. But how I wish it were otherwise...(",) Shellagh and Zoë are my own creation.
Author's note: Some of you may have wondered what this Saturday thing was that Zoë was going to tell Rukawa but because of certain things that happened that afternoon (hmm...the kiss? Hehe!) it completely slipped out of her mind! So, here's where you find out. Keep the reviews coming, ok?
Chapter 11: The Carnival
The phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey fox-eyes."
"Who's this?" came the irritable reply.
"The most beautiful girl on earth. Haha!"
"Zoë."
"Yeah. Listen, are you busy today?"
Rukawa glanced at his disheveled room and remembered the dirty dishes in the sink. "No."
"Great! Then you can come with me, my sister and the jerk to the carnival this afternoon. It'd be fun."
"You just want me to come so that you won't have to face Mitsui alone."
Zoë made a buzzing sound, like the ones in game shows. "Wrong! Of course not."
Silence from the other line.
"Okay, okay, you're right. I don't want to see him or even talk to him so that would make me walk around the carnival alone and I don't want that so I thought of you and said to myself, 'hey, Rukawa can come with me."
"You finally admit that you do talk to yourself?"
"Haha. Well, will you come? Please!"
Rukawa glanced at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor of his room and winced as he heard in his head his mother's sermon before she left for work that morning. "One condition."
"What?"
"Come here early and I'll tell you."
"Why do I smell something fishy?"
"Come early or I won't go."
"Fine. I'll be there in an hour."
"Okay. See you."
"Wait! Rukawa."
"What?"
"Just so you know." Her voice dropped low as she whispered, "I invited you because I wanted you to be with me, too."
Rukawa felt his ears redden and replied just as quietly, "I know."
A soft click echoed from the other line.
"I can't believe you made me wash dishes!" complained Zoë, as she shoved cotton candy in her mouth. "My hands are all red from the hot water and soap!"
"If you didn't help me with my chores, I wouldn't be here with you right now."
"Yeah, well, you should at least be grateful," she grumbled.
"Hey, it's one favor for another. Gratitude is not included."
Zoë socked Rukawa's arm. "Hmph. Ingrate."
"Zoë," called Shellagh. "We'll meet at the entrance around 5, okay?"
Zoë nodded noncommittally. "Whatever."
Mitsui nodded at Rukawa who returned the gesture. Since they weren't really friends and didn't share any companionship outside basketball practices, a nod to each other was their only acknowledgement.
Zoë scowled at Mitsui as he passed by her with Shellagh. "Jerk," she muttered under her breath. She grabbed Rukawa's hand and pulled him to the other direction.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere far away from them!" she almost snarled. "I just can't take this. It's bad enough I see them together in school but even in my free time I have to...to...ARGH!"
Rukawa saw the basketball rings as he listened to Zoë's ranting. What she obviously needed was a distraction. "Zoë, I bet I can score more shots from you in that basketball booth."
Zoë glanced at him sharply. "What did you say?"
"You heard me."
"No, obviously, I haven't. YOU want to have a shooting contest against MOI? Isn't that a little brave of you to challenge the best?"
"Brave enough to face a LOSER like yourself."
Zoë gasped. Her face formed a glare. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"
"Just did. I say a 100 bucks will be the prize."
"Make that 200 and the consolation is the stuff you win from the booth."
"You're on," he replied.
Zoë marched toward the gaming booth and slapped some bills on the table that separated the people from the rings. "You better pray your lucky stars that you lose this one."
"Don't count on it." Rukawa smiled inwardly as she shot 3 balls that all went inside the ring.
Unbeknownst to him, it was not lost on Zoë that he just manipulated her into forgetting Mitsui. She was smiling to herself because she knew he did this for her and not just to challenge her to his favorite game. It gets better and better, she thought gleefully.
Shellagh looked over at Mitsui and once again, she felt as if she wanted to burst into laughter. He was so cute, sitting on the metal bench and gazing out to the larger and scarier rides with pure longing in his eyes. He remembered that she didn't like fast and high rides that he led her to the slow ones without even asking her if she wanted to ride them. They've ridden in the carousel, the bump cars, the go-carts, and every slow and on the ground ride that the carnival had. Now they were sitting on the uncomfortably wet, metal bench of one of the swan boats floating on the huge pond in the center of the theme park.
"Mi-chan?" He looked at her and she couldn't help but giggle when she saw him attempt to conceal his earlier expression. "You're not enjoying this, are you?"
Mitsui gave her a sheepish smile. "You noticed?"
"Can't help not to," she answered, giving a smile of her own. "You've been staring at those rides for the past hour."
"I'm sorry. I know you don't like those kind of –"
"How would you know since you never asked me?" she interrupted.
"Are you trying to tell me that you want to ride those?" he clarified, pointing at the objects in question.
Shellagh laughed at his comical expression of looking half-surprised and half-disbelieving. "Well, not the really scary ones with the 8 loops back and forth. But, nevertheless, yeah."
Mitsui's jaw dropped open. "No way. How'd you learn to do that?"
Shellagh rolled her eyes in exasperation while grinning the whole time. "I tried it!"
"When? Did someone force you?"
"It was a couple of years back. Zoë didn't particularly force me. BRIBE would be a better word for it. It wasn't a pretty picture the first dip down those tracks but it got a little better when the few dips, turns and loops kept coming."
Mitsui chuckled. "I wish I could have seen it."
"You can see it right now," replied Shellagh, impishly. "But I tell you, I'm not scared anymore. I won't throw up or do anything that might make me look bad."
"I'll see you try the fastest and biggest ride here," he challenged.
"Except that one."
Mitsui laughed. "Not scared, huh?"
"Almost."
They sat back again on the metal seat after the laughter receded, enjoying each other's presence. After a while, a thought entered Shellagh's mind. She had been chewing on this thought for a few days now and she kept forcefully pushing it at the back of her mind every time it crept up. Now was another example of those times when it kept pushing back up again and she was still uncertain.
She looked at Mitsui and her heart jumped when she saw that he was looking straight at her, as if sensing her doubtful and unsure feelings at that very moment. He slowly took her hand in his and squeezed in assurance. At that very instant, the answer dawned on her.
"Mi-chan, I –"
"You don't have to say it, Shellagh, if you're not sure. I'm not forcing you to do anything."
Shellagh brought her free hand to land on top of both their hands. "No, it's nothing like that. I just have to tell you something and I think this is the right time to say it. I've been thinking about us a lot lately and I've decided." She took a deep breath for strength and added, "I think we should be together, you know. M-More than friends. If that's what you want too..."
Mitsui's hand tightened around her own, doubts flitting in his mind. "Of course, I want to. But are you sure?"
"Yes," answered Shellagh with more confidence. "I can't really explain what I'm feeling right now. But you've always made me smile and feel good about myself."
"I don't want you to do this because you feel you have to," he replied glumly.
"No, silly! I'm doing this because I want to." Then softly she added, "When I'm with you, you always make me happy, Mi-chan."
"I do?"
Shellagh nodded, wanting to assure him with her feelings. "You've always done that to me. Even before, just being with you matters more than being with other people I've been friends with for a long time."
A slow grin replaced the somber expression on Mitsui's face, as his doubts disappeared. He removed his hand from hers and took it around her shoulders, wrapping her into one big hug. "You don't know how much you make me happy just by telling me this."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Mitsui leaned in closer and pressed his lips on her forehead while he said teasingly, "Then you won't mind if we get out of this boat and go to the wild rides, right?"
Shellagh laughed softly. "Nope. Just as long as it's a ride that I can take."
"You got it."
After three successful shots, she turned to him and raised an eyebrow haughtily. "Beat that."
Rukawa stepped up beside her and got the first ball from the teenage boy inside the booth. He cupped his hands around the ball and threw it toward the net. It went in beautifully. He shot a smirk at Zoë and turned to receive the next ball. After two successful shots, he turned to her again and gestured toward the net. "Your turn."
Zoë elbowed him when she reached for the ball. She felt her heart beating with excitement from the prospect of winning against Rukawa. It would be another chance for her to tease him, to try and make him smile and to infuriate him further that he lost to her. And right in front of a crowd too, she thought to herself gleefully.
After a couple of sets, a crowd had suddenly gathered around them, apparently enthralled with their talent and skill in shooting. But secretly watching also because of the fact that Rukawa was competing against a girl who knew what she was doing and could really hold her own ground. It was the last round, their competitive natures were at a peak and with people looking on, the two felt that they had to be better than the other was.
Zoë bent her knees and paused before taking a shot. The air was filled with anticipation; and tension so thick that one can cut it with a knife. She let go of the ball and as if in slow motion, it arced gracefully to the net. Concertos seemed to sing in Zoë's mind as she envisioned her victory. She smirked at Rukawa's image of abject horror and shock with her gloating so smugly.
Zoë didn't even see it coming. So engrossed was she in her smug thoughts that she didn't notice at first the ball hitting the ring and falling straight to the floor. She had lost a point. SHE LOST A POINT.
Groans and sighs were emitted in the air while Zoë, eyes wide open, went into shock. That didn't happen, did it? I didn't just lose to, fox-eyes, did I?
Rukawa had a little smirk playing on his lips. Now on to the kill, he thought to himself, mentally rubbing his hands together. I'm going to win. He was about to say something snidely when he heard two guys' conversation behind him.
One of them sighed. "Well, that was too good to be true."
"Yeah," the other one piped in. "She's just a girl, anyway."
Rukawa frowned and he saw that Zoë heard them too because of the death glare that formed on her face directed at the two guys. He reached for the ball from the guy manning the booth and threw it at her, which she caught effortlessly. "Is that it?" he asked in a low voice that only reached Zoë's ears.
"What?" she snapped.
"Is that all you can do?" he taunted. "Are you letting me win?"
Zoë's hands clenched around the ball, her face passive but her dark green eyes glinted with fury. "Not even on your life, Rukawa. Not even then." She turned away from him at that point; her anger urging her on to execute two perfect shots. She stepped back and allowed him to step in front of the net and make his turn. Since her blundered shot, the crowd dwindled; obviously assuming that Zoë was as good as a loser already.
Silence reigned among the remaining audience, concentrated on Rukawa's every move with the ball. Though most were sure that he would win, a few others still thought that Zoë had a chance to beat the ace of Shohoku.
Rukawa dribbled the ball, staring at the net above him. He could feel the eyes of every person around him but he did not let their gawking disturb his peace of mind. He knew what he was doing, ever since his young hands touched the round, smooth surface of a basketball. He had practiced endlessly how to play, how to move fast in the court, and how to shoot free throws or any kind of shots under pressure. He was good in his obsession and he knew his worth against every opponent he had played with.
He threw the ball towards the net, knowing its precise outcome down to the last second. The crowd whooped with glee as the first shot sank cleanly inside the net. He looked at Zoë mockingly while he accepted the second ball. He could see the loathing in her gaze and he looked away with a smug smile upon his lips. He dribbled rapidly, the thrill of the successful shot rushing through his arms. He brought the ball above his head with his hands and after a second, tossed the ball through the air.
***
AN: Evil cliffhanger, I know! I just couldn't help it. (",) Well, watch out for the next chapter. I could really sense that this story is almost at an end...but I still have a million more ideas that I want to try out after this is over so please check them out once I put them up. Thanks a lot for you guys who kept reading and reviewing my story! You know who you are. (",)
Why am I so sentimental today? (^_^)
Oh, yeah, about the money thing...I don't know much about Japan's currency so just don't mind it. (",)
Anyway, don't forget to give me reviews, people! Another BIG thanks!!!!
